<![CDATA[Wrangell Seventh-day Adventist Church - Pastor Charlie\'s Blog]]>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 02:34:00 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Almost Incredible Promises- Chapter 2]]>Mon, 02 Mar 2026 01:36:21 GMThttps://www.wrangellsda.org/pastor-charlies-blog/almost-incredible-promises-chapter-2The Kneeling Christian- Chapter 2
When we are with Christ in glory, looking over our life’s story, the most obvious feature of that life as we look back on it will be its prayerlessness.                                                                                                                                                                                       
We will open our eyes in bewilderment as we see these wonderful promises from the mouth of Christ Himself. 

On the eve of His death, He made this promise.  John 14:12-14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. He repeats Himself in the next chapter. John 15:7-8 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so, shall ye be my disciples. John 15:14-16 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. John 16:23-24 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. Jesus Himself made these promises in these 4 texts.  Never before had Jesus made such stress on any promise or command. Jesus commands us to ask whatever we will. Most Christian people ignore this command. Maybe because these promises are overwhelming. Yet we know that He is able. Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Jesus wants us to grasp His treasures. Phil 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Eph 3:14-16 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. As stated earlier “our joy” is in answered prayer. We let the Devil persuade us to neglect prayer. He deceives us that we can do more by ourselves. God delights to answer prayer, and He gives us His word. If we want to do much for God, we must ask much of God. Few people believe God’s promises. Whenever God makes a promise, we are to say I believe God and trust Him at His word. Acts 27:25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Matt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. God wants us to pray. Jesus needs our prayers, in fact, everything depends on prayer. Shall we become a people of prayer? Prayer is so important that God has taken away every excuse not to pray. Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. Now arises the question, “How long should we pray?” If we were to watch the clock, would our prayers be 10 minutes, ½ hour, 1 hour or 4 hours? To be little with God in prayer s to be little with God in service. The opposite is true also. Much secret prayer means much public power. No person can say how much time someone else should spend in prayer. Do we really desire to do God’s will? Are we sincere? Do we really believe God’s promises? Is prayer an obligation, a privilege, a pleasure, a real joy or a necessity?  

When I was new to faith, I asked my friend how long he prayed. I can’t remember what he said but I knew it was a long time. I asked, “How do you do that?”  He thought for a minute and he became flustered. He said, “I don’t know you just do it.” After reading this chapter, I am convicted that I need to spend more time in prayer. So how do I do that? The same question I asked my friend so many years ago. I believe I will pray for the Holy Spirt to guide me into all truth. Blessings Charlie 
 
 

]]><![CDATA[God's Great Need- Chapter 1]]>Sun, 01 Feb 2026 23:30:53 GMThttps://www.wrangellsda.org/pastor-charlies-blog/gods-great-need-chapter-1I am doing a review of the book, ‘The Kneeling Christian’ by the Unknown Christian. 

The book had been in England for a long time. In 1937, a book publisher was given ‘The Kneeling Christian’ to read. His company, Zondervan, began publishing the book in 1945. 

Chapter 1 God’s Great Need 

“God wondered.” Isa. 59:16 He (the LORD) saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor. This was a long time ago, before Jesus Christ or the promise of the Holy Spirit. God is looking for intercessors today. Everything depends on prayer. That is why so many church members are discouraged that no one is coming to the light. Churches could be on fire for God, but there is little prayer. Jesus is just as powerful today as He ever was. The secret of failure is a lack of prayer. Isa. 64:7a “And there is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You.”  

Does prayer matter to you? Does prayer matter to God? Do you believe it?
Matt. 21:21-22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. 

Do you believe this promise? Do you believe this is a call to prayer?
1 John 3:21-22 Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 

Why are our prayers not answered? The greatest thing we can do for God or people is to pray. Dear LORD, please teach us to pray and forgive our unbelief.

Amen.
 

]]><![CDATA[Forgiveness]]>Sun, 11 Jan 2026 23:20:11 GMThttps://www.wrangellsda.org/pastor-charlies-blog/forgivenessWhat does forgiving look like? 

How do we know that forgiveness is real? 

I would like to tell you about an event that I witnessed. I was volunteering for Alcoholics Anonymous at the county jail and also at the medium and minimum-security facilities at the local prison.  A man showed up at the jail. I will call him Abel. Abel was extremely angry and looked like his head was about to explode.

He told his story. His father had just died and left him the family house. He moved in. His ex- stepson needed a place to live, so Abel took him in. The stepson called the police and turned Abel in. His father had 10 guns in the house. Because Abel was a felon, he could not have any weapons where he lived. Each gun added 5 years to his sentence.

He was in his mid forties so Abel saw that 50 years as life sentence. The stepson began selling Abel’s belongings and Abel's deceased father’s things. Being in jail there was nothing Abel could do. He was furious. Fortunately, he began coming to the AA meetings. He learned that his life was a mess and that no human power could save him.

In his past Abel had sort of relationship with God. He decided to turn his life over to God as he understood Him. Abel learned that in order to forgive, you have to start with yourself. He recognized that all these problems went back to choices he had made earlier in life. He forgave himself which is sometimes the hardest person to forgive.

 Then he learned to forgive others. He was gone. I didn’t know what had happened to him. He showed up at the medium security prison. He shared his journey with other inmates, who were struggling and gave them hope. Abel was a changed man.

By the way, his 50 year prison term was knocked down by the courts to 10 years. Abel accepted that he was through the grace of God to share his history and his example to give people the courage to change the things they can. Abel’s example gives us on how to forgive, where to begin and that forgiveness changes people. It was no longer about himself it was about other people.

If this story, made you think about forgiving and what that looks like then may God bless your adventure with a spirit-changed life.

Until next time, Charlie  

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